The Stolen Heart Of A Thief
by Remember How I Used To Be
Summary: CHAPTER EIGHT IS UP!Genevieve "Gem" Lightfingers is the best thief in all of the Caribbean, but when she robs the wrong man she finds herself running for her life. You never know what surprises the future will hold on a pirate ship.
1. Best Thief in the Caribbean

**Summary: Genevieve "Gem" Lightfingers is the best thief in all of the Caribbean, but when she robs the wrong man she finds herself running for her life. What is a girl to do when surrounded by an oddball pirate, a brave blacksmith, a disgraced commodore, and the backstabbing daughter of a governor?**

* * *

Genevieve slipped through the crowd to her prospective target. People did not notice as her slim hand snaked out to unhook the man's gold pocket watch from its place. In a flash, she had pocketed the watch and disappeared into the crowd before the man could realize what had happened.

Genevieve Lightfingers, or Gem as she was often called, was the most skilled thief in Port Royal. Some said in all of the Caribbean. Over the years she had filched items from drying laundry to jewels locked away in large safes. Nothing was safe from her fingers. Or so everyone said. Gem knew differently, but chose to allow people to believe what they wished.

Gem smiled to herself as she slipped into her home, a little hole in the fort walls that had gone unnoticed for nearly two years after the cursed pirates of the Black Pearl had bombarded the fort. A little bag that contained all of her stolen items lay hidden in the dark recesses of her home. To this she added her latest prize, the gold pocket watch. The next boat heading out she would be on, but first she had one more prize in mind.

The prize Gem had in mind was a necklace belonging to the newest commander of Port Royal, Lord Cutler Beckett. The necklace was a golden chain with a single gem teardrop dangling from it. The Lord never took it off until the moment he went to sleep each night. He would lock the chain away in a small strongbox beside his bed and place the key beneath his mattress. Gem did not plan on using the key; it would be far too risky. Instead, she would pick the lock and spirit away the chain. She would be on the next ship outbound.

Darkness fell, creeping through the city like a black shroud, hiding Gem in its folds. Her black hair was cut short and hidden beneath a cap. Dark clothes hugged her lithe body as she slowly climbed up the wall of Lord Cutler Beckett's mansion.

A candle flickered as Lord Beckett locked his chain in the strongbox and deposited the key beneath the mattress. Gem's blue eyes glittered as she watched the unsuspecting lord lie down.

A few short minutes later, Lord Beckett's snores echoed through the rather large and empty bedroom.

Gem smirked as she opened the window, all noise covered by his snores. He was her unwitting accomplice. In a few silent steps, Gem stood before the strongbox. A lock pick appeared in her hands. She deftly picked the locked and slowly opened the door. There lay the golden chain, hers for the taking. A slow smile crept across her face as she pocketed the chain and closed the strong box.

In her haste to escape the room, Gem did not notice the darkly colored cat that had slipped into the bedroom as well. It yowled loudly as she stepped upon its tail. Gem whiled just as Lord Beckett awoke.

"Thief!" He cried, springing from his bed. Lights flared to life just down the hall.

Gem leapt out the window to the balcony not far below. She swung over the railing, sliding down the ornately carved columns to the ground.

As she ran, Gem praised herself for getting the short haircut and wearing the cap. At least it would stall the Lord's attempts at her capture.

Lord Beckett stood at his window calling to the soldiers on duty around his house to catch Gem.

Musket balls pinged as they hit the cobblestones around her. One grazed her shoulder and she grimaced, but continued to run.

A few minutes later she had dashed into her hiding place, grabbed her bag, and was heading for the docks.

A boat stood in the harbor and Gem ran to it as the guards were sleeping at their posts. She breathed a sigh of relief as she spotted no soldiers anywhere near.

Her relief turned as she sighted the sleeping sailors sprawled across the deck. In a moment they would be woken by the distant shouts of the soldiers.

Gem took a deep breath and leapt lightly over and around the men until she had reached the hold. A quick glance around assured her she was still safe as she ducked inside, sliding the grate back into place. She hurried to the back of the ship. A few quick taps on the wooden floor revealed her new hiding place, the Smugglers' Hold. She pulled open the trapdoor and slipped inside just as a commotion erupted on the docks over her disappearance.

The young thief huddled in the darkest corner of the Hold, trying to be a silent as possible. In her silence she managed to drift off to sleep, her jacket becoming her pillow.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Gem woke up to the violent tossing of her stomach. She groaned as she realized where she was, on the run and without a clue as to where she was going. To ease her fears, she began to estimate how much she could get for the necklace in her possession.

Her thoughts froze before she could form them, however, when she heard the sounds of boots just above her head. For a moment they paused, right on top of the trap door. They tapped on the hollowed floor. Terror gripped her heart as the trapdoor slowly opened and someone dropped into the Smugglers' Hold.

Gem struggled as far back into the corner as possible, but to no avail.

The lantern in the intruder's hand lit up the entire Hold. Gem was caught in its bright gaze.

She was blinded by the sudden brightness and dropped to her knees.

The person holding the lantern drew closer to Gem.

Instinctively, she tried to back up and was met by the mildew-covered wall. Her vision cleared, allowing her to see a young man, slightly older than she. He had dark, wavy brown hair and soulful brown eyes. Smooth muscles were outlined by his loose shirt.

"Who are you?" The stranger demanded, holding the lantern higher to get a better view of Gem.

Gem put a finger to her lips and motioned for him to come closer.

The man did so, a little bit wary of her.

"Please, don't tell the other sailors I'm down here." She said finally.

The man raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"I'm running away." Gem told him, "I don't want to get sent back to that place." She added a false shudder as though she was thinking of some terrible place.

A small smile lifted the corners of the young man's mouth. "I won't tell anyone." He sat beside her on the floor. "My name is Will Turner."

Gem smiled lightly. "Gem, just call me Gem."

"Well, Gem," Will said, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He stood up as they heard footsteps descending the ladder into the normal hold. "I'll be back." He whispered quickly disappearing, shutting the trapdoor behind him. Gem was once again left alone in the dark.


	2. A Search for a Pirate

**Summary: Genevieve "Gem" Lightfingers is the best thief in all of the Caribbean, but when she robs the wrong man she finds herself running for her life. What is a girl to do when surrounded by an oddball pirate, a brave blacksmith, a disgraced commodore, and the backstabbing daughter of a governor?**

* * *

Gem leaned against the sides of her tiny space onboard the ship. Everyday, Will Turner would bring her food and talk to her for a few minutes before heading back to the deck. He believed she was running from an arranged marriage or an abusive family. Gem allowed him to think this, never contradicting his thoughts on the matter. After all, it was he that had said she was running from things of the like, not she. 

Today a thin beam of light had just crept into the tiny hold when Will appeared. "You've got to get out of this hold!" He whispered urgently holding his hand out to Gem.

Gem swung up to the above deck, still clutching her bag of prizes.

Will grasped her wrist and pulled her to the other end of the hold to a small room. "Get in and hide somewhere." The door shut tightly behind Gem and locked.

She was getting rather suspicious of this Will. Then she heard voices from the deck above and the sound of feet as they moved across the deck to the hold ladder. In an instant a terrible thought crossed her mind. Had Will betrayed her? The fear forced her mind to work faster.

Voices were coming closer to the little room. "I doubt that any thief, no matter how skilled could get in to my little room. There is nothing for them to have stolen." It was Will as he was being forced to unlock his room.

Gem spotted the tiny porthole and opened it quickly. With her bundle clutched between her teeth, Gem slid through the window, her finger wedging themselves into tiny crevices along the ship's hull. She shut the porthole and clambered over the ledge of one of the ship's side carvings just as the soldiers burst into Will's room.

"You see, there is no one here. Nothing has been taken or disturbed." Will said.

A cold voice made Gem's blood freeze in her veins. "Mr. Turner, you have been known to help those fleeing from the law. It is quite likely that the girl is on this ship and you know where she is."

Will Turner had helped someone else flee from the law?

Over the past few days, he had told her of his life in Port Royal first as an apprentice, then as the actual blacksmith. He told her of how he was to be married to the governor's daughter, Elizabeth Swann. Gem had listened to it and not said a single word.

Then again, thinking back Gem remembered all the commotion at the execution of a famous pirate. A man, very much resembling Will, had braved death to rescue the pirate and win his true love over. Gem did not remember all of the details except that she had made her best haul ever on that day. In all of the jostling, no one noticed the young woman slipping jewels from people fingers and wrists or purses from waists.

Perhaps Will had been that man.

"This girl has stolen property on her that belongs to me. I want it back. Whether she lives or dies I care not, but I will not tolerate someone stealing from me in my own house." Lord Beckett's cold voice floated up to Gem.

With the stealth of a cat, Gem slipped up the side of the hull to the railing. Not one of the sailors or soldiers on either ship was looking her direction. Thanking her lucky star, she leapt nimbly up the nearest rope to the Crow's Nest.

She hid there as Lord Beckett appeared on the deck with Will Turner and several soldiers. "Keep an eye out for her." He called to the crew, "One hundred pounds to the man who catches her, dead or alive." The crew was interested and began combing the ship for her.

A smirk made its way onto Gem's face as she watched the men searching for her. Lord Beckett took one last look around and crossed the plank to his ship. His men set sail back towards Port Royal based on Gem's calculations.

Night fell as the men continued their search, not one of them having the brains to climb up to the Crow's Nest. As sleep claimed the sailors one by one, Gem slid down from her hiding place. Snores of the sailors nearly deafened Gem as she moved about under the cover of the night.

The captain stood at the Helm with his navigator, studying a map. He glanced up briefly and glanced over the deck.

Gem froze in her tracks. The captain's eyes seemed to rest right on her for a moment. Then he looked back to the map. A light sigh of relief escaped her lips as she darted down to the level of the ship where the officers had their quarters. The captain's door was unlocked. It opened noiselessly, allowing Gem inside. She began to sift through the captain's possessions.

Someone must have noticed the door standing slightly ajar for they opened it the rest of the way.

"Gem!" Will's voice startled her.

Gem spun about, a silver chain in her hands.

Will stared at her. "You lied to me. You are a thief; the one Lord Beckett has been searching for."

Gem smiled smugly. "Technically, I did **_not_** lie to you. You were, after all, the one who brought up all those fates possible for a girl such as myself. I never agreed nor disagreed with anything you said."

A flood of emotions warred on Will's face. "I trusted you." He said softly, his voice accusing.

"Yeah, well, this is what happens when you trust a thief. Things get complicated." Gem felt a small pang of regret in her stomach. "I get off at the next stop, so don't worry about me besmirching your honor." Her calm blue eyes met Will's troubled brown eyes.

Will stepped aside to let her pass and she darted off down the hall. He watched her go, emotions warred inside of him. Betrayal, anger, pain, all vying for the place of dominance in his mind. Then he realized she was still holding the captain's chain. "There's going to be Hell to pay for this." He growled, pursuing Gem into the hold.

Gem sat cross-legged on top of a pile of rope in one corner of the hold. Carefully polishing the chain with a cloth she had produced from her bag.

"Gem," Will said, standing before her.

Gem didn't even glance up at him. "Let me guess," She drawled, "You want me to put it back?"

"Yes."

"Pity, won't, should, but won't." Gem slipped the chain into her bag along with the cloth.

Will reached for the bag, but it was pulled out of his reach.

Before either could speak again, "Land ho!" Cried the look-out.

Will turned and raced for the deck.

Gem, however, snatched up a water-proof bag and shoved her things inside it. She slipped out a nearby porthole and perched lightly on the edge of a one of the carvings.

There, in a small cove, was the filthy city of Tortuga. Gem smiled, how lucky for her.

"This is where we part company, Mr. Turner." Came the captain's voice from the deck above.

Gem's joy turned to disgust, grand, just grand. As the boat came to a halt, Gem dove into the icy waters of the bay and swam for shore.

A few moments later, she clambered onto the docks, dripping wet and freezing cold. Gem shook the water from her short black hair and wrung out her clothing as best she could before heading towards the streets. The balmy night air slowly dried her clothes.

Her first stop would be Peddlers' Alley, a place she had only been once before. There she sold her items for rather high prices.

A lean man stood to on side of Peddlers' Alley, a case of fine jewels and jewelry before him. He bought the silver chain and quite of few of Gem's other prizes, including Lord Cutler Beckett's golden chain for more than they were worth.

Gem kept the rest of her loot in the waterproof bag and tucked the bag of money inside her shirt where not even the most skilled of thieves could get to it without murdering her first.

She headed for the nearest tavern to buy herself a drink and locate someone who might be able to tell her about the location of a ship or group looking for someone with her skills.

The tavern was actually very calm, all things considered. Gem strolled over to the bar and ordered herself a drink before retreating to a quiet corner of the tavern. Her blue eyes picked out a prospective group of men, but before she could move, she saw Will Turner walk into the tavern. He leaned over the bar to speak with the bartender. Gem crept closer.

"I 'aven't seen Jack Sparrow in nigh a month." The bartender replied to Will's questioning.

"Figures," Will muttered, "Giselle hasn't seen him either. Any idea as to where he's gone?"

"Aye, that I 'ave." The bartender smiled a little, showing his missing teeth, "Last I knew, Sparrow was off to the Black Isles."

Will nodded and handed the man a gold coin. He started for the door, but Gem stepped in front of him.

"You're looking for Captain Jack Sparrow?" Her voice betrayed her curiosity.

"What of it?" Will said, suddenly defensive.

"Isn't he the pirate that escaped from Port Royal slightly over two years ago?" Gem asked, pressing Will for details, "The one that may have had some help from you?"

"Possibly."

"Then, may I accompany you on your search for Sparrow?" Gem grinned suddenly, "And I swear on my honor as a thief that I won't steal from anymore ships."

Will looked extremely skeptical. "Do thieves even have any honor?"

A short bark of laughter startled Will as Gem laughed at his question. "As much honor as any bloody pirate."

With a sigh, Will nodded and motioned for Gem to follow him. "Might as well have some familiar company on this venture."

And so the search for Captain Jack Sparrow began.


	3. Cannibal Island

**Summary: Genevieve "Gem" Lightfingers is the best thief in all of the Caribbean, but when she robs the wrong man she finds herself running for her life. What is a girl to do when surrounded by an oddball pirate, a brave blacksmith, a disgraced commodore, and the backstabbing daughter of a governor?**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed:Nox Noctis Angelus, Tadriendra of Mirkwood, Kittie Yannie, thorinella, angelwingz21, and amrawo.**

* * *

Gem groaned as Will came back to her with _that_ expression on his face. 

"Please, don't tell me. Let me keep the illusions up a bit longer." Gem muttered, banging her head back against the wooden wall of the building beside her.

Will slipped his hand behind her head and held it away from the wall. "You really have to stop doing that. You'll hurt yourself." He let out a sigh, "At least this time they know where his ship is. Not that they know where he is."

Gem perked up slightly. "Really?"

Her companion nodded. "Yeah, the only thing is…" His voice trailed off.

Gem finished his sentence, "We have to take another boat ride."

They both moaned.

"I'm beginning to have a severe dislike of this Jack Sparrow." Gem muttered as Will led her down the docks to the ship that would take them out to Jack's ship.

* * *

Gem sat on the boat railing while Will looked out across the water to the beached ship. 

"Look's like Jack was in a bit of a hurry." She commented.

Will looked a bit worried.

"You and the lady will be taken ashore." The boat's captain said, gesturing to a crew member.

Will and Gem climbed into a row boat and were taken to about a hundred yards from shore.

Gem made a face, but when the man refused to go any further, dove into the water. She swam to shore with Will right behind her.

"I'm also beginning to hate water." She grumbled, wringing out her clothes for the third time in the past five days.

Will, however, sloshed ashore with a smile plastered on his face at the sight of the boat.

"Jack!" He shouted up at the ship. "Gibbs?"

No one responded.

"Oh how lovely," Gem said sarcastically, "No one is home."

Will gave her a pointed look.

"What?"

He just turned towards the jungle and started in.

"Will!" Gem cried, running after him, "Think for a moment, jungle, abandoned ship, bones!" She pointed to a few lying on the beach. "Any of this forming a picture?"

Will stopped walking and turned to her. "Gem, you are just overreacting. Nothing is wrong. They just went further in to avoid the heat and find food." He started back in.

A parrot flew out at the pair.

"Cotton's parrot!" Will said staring at the bird. "See everything's fine."

"Don't eat me!" The bird squawked. "Don't eat me!"

"I'm not going to eat you." Will replied confused.

"Will! Hello? Anyone home?" She sighed, exasperated when he just looked even more confused. "Let's try this again. This is a tropical island. Uninhabited by civilized people, there's an abandoned ship on the beach, no sign of its crew save for this parrot, there is a pile of bones on the beach, and now one of the crew member's parrot comes flying out of the jungle squawking 'Don't eat me'! Think man!"

"Gem, stop it. You're just assuming the worst, as usual." Will walked further into the jungle following a trail of string he found leading from an alcohol flask.

Gem slapped her forehead.

Just then she heard a horrid screeching sound. Something jumped and Will was suddenly hanging upside-down by his leg.

Will drew his sword as a dozen or so island natives leapt out of hiding.

Gem ran to stand beneath him, but was knocked unconscious before she could draw her knife.

* * *

Gem woke up much later. She shook her head, still groggy from the blow to her head. "Oh bugger." 

A small cage made of bones dangle from a tree trunk high above a deep gorge. She was alone in the cage. Slowly, Gem got to her feet and looked around.

"Gem!" Someone called from behind her.

Gem turned to see Will in another cage, with several other men. A third cage hung on the other side of them.

"Oh, we'll be fine. I'm just overreacting again." She glared at Will.

"Shut up." He growled at her.

"So, how do you propose getting out of this little mess?" She asked him, "Seen as how **_you_** are the one that got me into this mess in the first place."

Will made a face at her. "First of all, I did not ask you to come. You just followed me here. Secondly, if you had told me there were cannibals we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. Thirdly-" Gem cut him off.

"Whoa! Hold everything! I all, but told you there were cannibals here. You wouldn't listen to me. Remember that part? You said I was overreacting."

Will opened and closed his mouth silently several times.

The men watched as Gem ranted at Will for a full five minutes. Getting louder every time Will tried to cut her off or speak.

"This is just lovely, you are going to end up as dinner a heck of a lot faster than I am." She finished shouting at him.

"What?" Will was at a loss for words.

Gem smirked and lowered herself through the bars at the bottom of her cage.

"I wouldn't do that, missy. There's nothing but rocks below you. One of the others tried that." One of the pirates in Will's cage said.

Gem ignored him and lowered herself down until she was dangling from the bottom of the cage. Slowly, she climbed up the side of the cage until she stood on top. In one fluid motion, Gem had begun to climb the vine holding her cage in mid-air.

The men watched as Gem climbed up until she had reached the tree trunk her cage dangled from.

"Good thinking, Gem!" Will called to her. "Now pull us up."

Gem looked down at him like he was crazy. "Not a chance." She walked off into the jungle.

"GEM!" Will shouted after her.

There was no reply.

"Bloody pirates….stupid Will….rishafrazzle….nefremy…." Gem muttered under her breath as she stalked towards the beach. Completely ignoring Will's enraged shouts behind her.


	4. Sarcasm and Tia Dalma

**Summary: Genevieve "Gem" Lightfingers is the best thief in all of the Caribbean, but when she robs the wrong man she finds herself running for her life. What is a girl to do when surrounded by an oddball pirate, a brave blacksmith, a disgraced commodore, and the backstabbing daughter of a governor?**

**OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPO **

Gem stalked through the jungle. _Blasted vines!_ She cut a vine with her knife and continued through the jungle, swearing loudly to herself.

Suddenly, the jungle ended.

Gem looked up and found herself standing in a clearing with a man hanging over a pile of sticks. He seemed to be tied to the pole and was shouting at the nearby natives.

Everything went dead silent as the cannibals spotted her.

"My luck's holding." She muttered, spinning on her heel and running in the opposite direction.

Natives were screaming and shouting at her as she ran as fast as she could towards the beach.

Suddenly, the jungle ended again and Gem found herself standing at the edge of a deep ravine. A river ran around the base.

"Oh! Not good!" She took off along one edge of the ravine, hoping it would end on the beach.

As she ran she heard shouting and just happened to glance up as one of the bone cages came barreling down the hill at her. Before she could move, the cage hit her and everyone fell into the river at the bottom of the ravine.

Will surfaced in the water next to her.

"Thank you." She said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." He smiled, just as sarcastically, and forced her under the water as a spear hurtled down at them.

He then proceeded to pull her into the shelter of a cliff. Several of the other pirates were huddled beside them.

"What were you doing, leaving the rest of us there like that?" Will demanded sharply, he gripped her arm so hard Gem was sure that she would have a bruise there.

Gem detached his fingers from her arm, one at a time. "Part one of the Thief's Code: Save yourself first. If you find time and have enough patience, save everyone else. And in the words of the famous Pirate Brethren: You fall behind, you get left behind. Or something to that effect."

Will growled, "You're another pirate in the making."

"That's what you think." She retorted.

An arrow hit the rocks just above her head. Everyone looked up to see more natives on the opposite cliff.

"That's bad!"

Gem dove under the water and let the current carry her along until she had reach the beach. At which point she clambered out of the water and raced towards the beached ship. The tide had just begun to come in and two men were undoing the mooring lines.

"Who are you?" She demanded sharply.

"No time, Gem!" Will told her as he began helping the other two untie the ship.

Gem glared at him and deftly released line after line.

In a matter of seconds, the ship had been freed of all its ropes. But Will refused to board the ship.

"Where's Jack? I won't leave without him!" He said stubbornly.

Gem leaned over the edge of the ship, "I think he got roasted if you know what I mean." She smiled wryly and got a dirty look from Will.

Just then a loud shouting caught the crew's attention.

The man Gem had assumed was Jack was running down the beach with the cannibals chasing him.

"Never mind," Will said quickly, "Let's go!"

The remaining pirates climbed hurriedly aboard the ship and were casting off as Jack lept onto the boat.

"Alas, my children! This is the day you shall always remember as the day that you almost..." Jack began before a huge wave crashed down over his head, "…Captain Jack Sparrow."

He climbed onboard, the paint running down his wet cheeks.

"Not very bright is he?" Gem commented to Will.

"What did you say, young missy?" Jack demanded, his gun out.

Gem looked bored and merely raised an eyebrow at his gun. "Not very bright is he?" She repeated, meeting Jack's eyes squarely.

Jack growled low in his throat. "Bloody women." He replaced his gun and turned to an older pirate. "Mr. Gibbs, it seems we have a need to travel upriver."

Mr. Gibbs looked a bit worried. "By "need" do you mean a trifling need, a fleeting need, more of a passing fancy?" He looked almost hopeful that Jack would say "Yes."

"No. I mean a resolute and unyielding need." Jack smiled dryly with a shake of his head.

Mr. Gibbs made a face and the ship headed up river.

**OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPO **

**One Hour Later**

Gem listened as the pirates told Will stories about a terrible sea monster called the Kraken, how it could take the face off of a man. She had heard the tales before, but counted them as myth. Gem was hardly superstitious and not given to believing in myths and legends. She liked the cold, hard facts and tangible evidence.

As they rowed slowly up the river, the men grew more and more nervous.

"No worries! Tia Dalma and I go way back... thick as thieves, nigh inseparable we are... were... have been... before..." Jack said, his face growing dark and worried.

"I'll watch yer back." Mr. Gibbs said with a reassuring smile.

Jack made a face, "It's me front I'm worried about." He started inside a hut.

"Mind the boat," Gibbs told Will and Gem.

The 'Mind the boat' command was passed down through several crew members, leaving only the mute man in the boat, even his parrot having gone inside.

Gem stared in awe around the rather large hut. Strange things hung about the walls. "This is my kinda place." She told Will.

Will looked a little wary.

A woman, just a strange as the hut, immerged from a back room. She moved slowly towards Gem.

"You have a strange fate, Genevieve Durand." The woman said softly, her nearly black eyes gazing deeply into Gem's.

"I know you." Gem replied, her brow furrowed as she tried to remember where she had seen this strange woman.

"You have a touch of destiny about you, William Turner." The woman told Will, getting very close to him.

"You know me?" Will asked, his eyebrows raised.

"You want to know me." Tia Dalma said wriggling closer to Will's chest.

Jack got between them. "There'll be no knowing here! We came here for help and were not leaving without it!" He gave Tia a hurt look, "I thought I knew you…"

The woman made a small face at Jack as she went over to her table and leaned back ever so slightly.

Gem watched the woman, racking her brains for this woman's face. Where had she seen the bloody woman before?


	5. Captured by Fishface

**Summary: Genevieve "Gem" Lightfingers is the best thief in all of the Caribbean, but when she robs the wrong man she finds herself running for her life. What is a girl to do when surrounded by an oddball pirate, a brave blacksmith, a disgraced commodore, and the backstabbing daughter of a governor?**

**Okay dearies, I am back! Finally!!! After God knows how long, but I'm back none-the-less. I know I promised to have this out the week after X-mas, but I didn't because A) I'm too lazy to work on it, B) my town has been getting some crappy weather up here (freak snowstorms and such) and the stupid company we get internet through keeps losing power whenever we get a storm, C) my little sister deleted several of my files because I had locked them, and D) I've been gone quite a bit lately, between committee meetings and the youth rallies I've been terribly busy. O.K., now that we're done with excuses, let's get on with the story. Shall we?**

* * *

Gem leaned sulkily on the railing of the Black Pearl as rain drenched her body. Lightening flashed, illuminating the wreckage in front of her. She could see the dim lanterns swinging crazily in the wind.

"That's the Flying Dutchman?" She asked skeptically, "I was under the impression that it was a bit more… seaworthy than that thing."

"That's her alright," Jack said, and Gem could hear the hesitation in his voice, "She's just doing that to trick unprepared fools."

Will appeared on the deck beside Gem.

"Are you ready to go over, Will?" Gem asked him, glancing nervously at the wreck. She hated the thought of Will going over there, especially in a storm.

"Yeah." He replied.

"So what's the plan?" Jack asked Will as he hand him a lantern.

"Row over, search the ship, find the key, and kill anyone that tries to stop me." Will recited.

"I like it," Jack said, "Simple and easy to remember. Oh and if you happen to get captured, tell them Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt."

Will started over the edge of the ship, but Gem grabbed his coat edges. "Be careful," She whispered, "I don't completely trust Jack in this. I don't want you to get hurt just because Jack is too much of a coward to go after the key himself."

"Don't worry about me. I've lived through a pirate raid and capture by cannibals. A search for a key should be a lot easier." He smiled up at Gem.

"All the same," She replied, kissing his cheek, "Be careful." She backed away from the railing as she felt a blush creep across her face. She'd never done anything like that before. Hell, she'd never given a damn if someone besides herself lived or died until now, but Will… he was something special. He was her friend.

Will gave her a reassuring smile and ducked over the edge of the ship. Gem freaked and raced over to the rail. "Wait! I'll go with you." She told him as she swung a leg over the railing.

"Gem," Will began, but Gem shook her head stubbornly as she plopped down into the bottom of the boat. He sighed and picked up the oars. The thief was as stubborn as an ox when she wanted to be. Truthfully he was glad that she was with him.

Gem fiddled with a short strand of black hair as she gazed apprehensively at the looming shipwreck. "What exactly are we looking for?" She caught the scrap of cloth Will tossed to her and glanced at the drawing. "That's weird." She muttered, gazing intently at the image upon the cloth.

"What's weird?" Will asked. "It's just a key."

"I've seen it before. Just like I knew Tia once, I know this key from somewhere." She closed her eyes and concentrated hard. "My mother!" Her eyes flew open.

"Your mother?" Will gave Gem an odd look.

"Yes, my mother told me a story when I was a little girl about my great grandfather. He went to sea and vanished in a terrible storm. Three years later, my great grandmother was traveling from Port Royal to London when the ship was attacked by the Flying Dutchman. My great grandfather was on the Dutchman, he rescued my great grandmother and their youngest daughter by hiding them in the Smugglers' Hold. They never saw him again. Before he left them he gave my great grandmother a rough drawing of a key exactly like this and said that if she ever could get the key or the chest it went to, he would be freed. My great grandmother spent the remainder of her days searching for the chest. Rumors and legends say she found the chest, but was killed before she could move the chest. No one knows what was in the chest, but it was important enough that Davy Jones himself went on dry land to kill her. One wonders how Jack Sparrow managed to get a hold of this drawing. One wonders how he even knew about the existence of the key." Gem fell silent as the row boat bumped against the shipwreck. She stood up and stepped into the ankle deep water on the ship's splintered deck.

Will lifted the lantern from the boat and trudged up onto the deck. Gem edged around the bodies of the dead crew members as they made their way around the shipwreck. They found a few men living, but they were terrified. One man was frantically trying to raise the sails. Gem gave a startled scream as Will turned over a man who had scrambled onto the deck barely alive. He was missing his face. Will looked sick. They started to move to another part of the ship when strange figures began to rise up from the waves. One of the figures had the head of a Hammerhead shark. All of the other figures were just as strange.

The creatures drew out swords, maces, and axes. Will drew his sword as did Gem. They stood back to back. The creatures circled the pair before falling upon them like starving animals upon fresh meat.

Gem leapt out of the reach of a wild mace and grasped a rope in her free hand. She swung over the creature wielding the mace and hit one fighting Will in the back of the head with her boot heel.

"If we live, remind me to thank you for that." Will smiled wryly as he picked up a torch and swung it about his head and hit another creature. Before he could hit another on, however, a piece of rigging hit him in the back of the head.

"Will!" Gem screamed trying to reach him before she too was knocked unconscious.

When Gem woke up she was on her knees, being held by one of the strange creatures she had been fighting. Will was awake beside her. He gave her a small smile and started to say something, but the thumping of a wooden peg against the deck froze the words in his mouth.

Another creature appeared on the deck. He had a peg leg, tentacles for a beard, and a large captain's hat. He moved slowly up and down the line talking of saving the few survivors of the shipwreck from judgment for at least a hundred years. One man spoke up against this and got his head sliced off. The creatures hauled his body overboard.

Gem gave a small scream and turned away.

"What's this? A woman?" The creature who had to be the captain said as he loomed over Gem. "Women are nothing but trouble." He nodded to the creature behind Gem. The creature raised it's sword into the air. The lantern light glinted off of the blade as it began to fall.

"Wait!" Will shouted.

The blade halted in its decent pressing lightly against Gem's exposed throat. "Will." She whimpered.

Will stared at the thief. He had never seen her as jumpy and as frightened as she was now. She had never been in a position like this before and her lack of control over the situation terrified her.

"And who might you be? You are neither dead nor dying." The captain turned to face Will.

"Jack Sparrow sent me to settle his debt." Was all Will would say.

"What did you say?" The creature demanded focusing on Will.

"Jack Sparrow sent me to settle his debt." Will looked a little bit confused. The expression on his face said 'Why the hell am I saying this?'

"Jack Sparrow, eh?" The captain turned abruptly to face across the waters in the direction of the ship. He reached out and grabbed Gem's arm. "Let's go."

"Will!" Gem gasped as she was instantly moved across the tossing waves to Jack's ship.

"Oh bugger." She heard Jack muttered as he jumped backwards.

"I believe this belongs to you, Jack." The creature said as he dropped Gem on the deck at Jack's feet. Gem fumbled to draw her sword and thrust it through the creature's heart. Or so she thought.

"You can't kill me girl." The creature laughed and yanked the sword out with a crab's claw hand.

The young thief scrambled backwards away from him. "What are you?" She whispered. She was almost certain she already knew, but was hoping she was wrong.

"Davy Jones, and as for you Jack Sparrow." Jones rounded on the pirate captain as he tried to sneak off. "You owe me your soul."

"No I don't, mate. I've already paid you your one soul." Jack smiled his 'I-win-you-lose' smile.

"Oh?" Jones merely looked bored. "One soul is not equal to another."

"Well, how many souls would you say my soul is worth?" Jack asked.

"One hundred souls." Jones proclaimed.

"Young Mr. Turner, he's worth at least 3, maybe 4 souls. Brave, loyal, wonderful soprano, and did I mention he's to be married? Wouldn't you agree it's only half as cruel to separate him from his dearly beloved than to let them be joined in holy matrimony?"

Gem could have sworn the fishy captain looked like he was about to cry, but just as quickly as the look had appeared it vanished.

"One hundred souls!" Jones repeated. "Don't you feel guilty for sentencing one hundred men to my ship?"

Jack took a deep breath, paused, and said, "Nope."

Gem resisted the urge to strangle the pirate.

"I'll keep the boy as a good faith hostage, be back with the others in three days." Jones said as he vanished back across the waters to his own ship.

Gem stared out over the waters to where Will was now standing to watch as the Black Pearl turned to head back to Tortuga.

In Tortuga many hours later

Gem glared in annoyance at Jack Sparrow as he strolled casually up to two of the elaborately painted harlots that roamed Tortuga. She stalked towards him just in time to see him get bitch slapped by both harlots before they strode off. Gem grinned and brought her own fist down directly on top of Jack's beloved hat.

"Oi! That's my hat you just crushed!" Jack cried as he frantically inspected the damaged hat.

"I know, but that's why I did it." Gem smiled at him and started off down one of the side streets.

"And just where do you think you're going, missy?" Jack shouted after her.

"That's none of your business!" The thief called back without even turning around.

Jack growled in frustration. "Women!" He threw his hands in the air and turned towards his favorite pub.

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**Ha ha! Once again we are incredibly slow on the updating thing. I know I'm six months behind schedule, but I always seem to be. So here's chapter 5 for ya mates!**


	6. The Pirate's Cousin

**Summary: Genevieve "Gem" Lightfingers is the best thief in all of the Caribbean, but when she robs the wrong man she finds herself running for her life. What is a girl to do when surrounded by an oddball pirate, a brave blacksmith, a disgraced commodore, and the backstabbing daughter of a governor?**

* * *

Gem headed quickly away from the Tortuga docks towards the one place she hadn't visited on her last stop in Tortuga. Her aunt's shop. Her aunt was a strange woman, about as strange as Tia Dalma. She sold a variety of things: from weapons to delicate dresses. Some of the items Gem hadn't sold to the jewelry dealer would end up in her aunt's shop as had a few of her previous items.

"Aunt Isabel," Gem called as she stepped into the shop, "I'm back!"

A slender woman with bright red hair appeared from behind a tattered curtain.

"Gem, it's been so long!" Aunt Isabel hugged her niece. "How have you been these past years?"

Gem produced her bag of jewels from her shirt. "Pretty well as you can see from my grabs."

Isabel just laughed and shook her head, "You never were one for obeying the rules. I guess that doesn't change when it comes to laws." She began to examine the jewels in the bag. "What brings you back to Tortuga beside the grabs? Rumor has it you were here with a young man about two weeks ago."

"You must mean Will. Yeah, he and I met up by pure chance. He came looking for Jack Sparrow and I was running from the law. I ended up going with him to find Jack. Now Will is trapped on Davy Jones' ship by that stupid pirate." Gem ran a hand through her messy black hair.

"Jack Sparrow?" Isabel dropped the chain she'd been examining a moment previous. "Is he here? In Tortuga?" She picked up the chain again to begin examining it again.

"Yeah," Gem said dully, "First thing the idiot did was head over to the harlots running around this place." She proceeded to tell her aunt the entire story behind her meeting up with Jack Sparrow.

"Sounds like Ariel's son," Isabel muttered, "She always said he liked playing Ladies' Man, however, she never mentioned him being minus a conscience."

"Ariel? As in Aunt Ariel?" Gem stared at her fiery aunt.

"That's the one," Isabel said as she looked out of the shop's front window, "Do you have any idea where Jack is now?"

Gem nodded, "He was heading off to some pub the last time I saw him."

Isabel frowned and set down the items she'd been looking over. "I think it's time we found your cousin."

Gem made a face. She did NOT like the idea of being so closely related to the moron Will had introduced her to. "Do we have to?"

"Yes," Isabel said firmly, "We do."

She had a look on her face that suddenly made Gem feel sorry for Jack and, yet, quite gleeful at the same time. It was a look that usually meant someone was going to get a tongue-lashing. After having been on the receiving end of such "discussions" before, Gem knew what was in store for the slightly mental pirate.

"Let's go."

Gem found herself trailing after her aunt after the shop had been locked up. Apparently Isabel knew exactly which pub to find Jack Sparrow in as she stomped into a small pub several long streets away from the shop.

Jack Sparrow was sitting against a back wall fiddling with his compass.

"JACK AUGUSTUS SPARROW!!!" Isabel bellowed over the noise of the pub.

The room fell into dead silence as the red haired woman stood in the doorway, hands on her hips.

Gem could've sworn that the infamous Captain Jack (Augustus) Sparrow had just gone four shades paler than normal.

"Oh bugger." He could be heard to say as he stared at his aunt.

"You have quite a lot of explaining to do, young man!" Isabel seized Jack by the ear and proceeded to drag him from the pub.

"Ow, ow, ow!!! That hurts!" Jack flailed his arms as he was dumped unceremoniously on his butt outside the pub door. He glared up at the tall woman standing before him.

She began a rant to rival any Gem had ever given anyone. Considering Isabel had probably had much more practice than Gem it was really no surprise. While rants Gem was prone to were enough to make a man's hair stand on end, Isabel's rants were enough to make ANYONE cower. Apparently this anyone included Jack Sparrow who seemed to wish he could melt into the broken cobblestones of the Tortuga streets.

Gem began edging away from her irate aunt and the cowering pirate. She dashed down the nearest side street and ran for a few more blocks. If she knew one thing about her aunt it was this: when in a temper she would round on anyone anywhere near her. Or at least anyone within her bellowing range.

Gem sometimes found it hard to believe that her mother was related to Isabel. Isabel was the odd one out among the three sisters. Ariel, Jack's mother, and Evangeline, Gem's mother, were both relatively quiet women. Both were strong-minded, but not nearly as confrontational as their older sister Isabel. Yet, Gem seemed to have inherited the loud and confrontational gene from the same place her aunt had gotten it, her great grandmother.

Darkness was beginning to fall as Gem made her way back to her aunt's shop. She went to pick the lock on the door when it fell open. The sight inside the shop made Gem stop dead in her tracks.

The whole shop was in shambles. Tables were overturned and many of the items that had been on them, broken. The stuffing had been ripped out of chair pads and mannequins. Pictures were torn from the walls. The glass cases were shattered. A soft scraping sound from the back room caught Gem's attention.

Gem drew her pistol and moved with all the stealth she possessed towards the curtain.

A man in dark clothes was riffling through Isabel's papers and books.

"Here it is!" He breathed triumphantly as he picked up a tattered and faded red book from the bottom of a pile of rags.

The young thief recognized the book. It was her great grandmother's journal on her quest to find Davy Jones' heart. It was an object treasured above all else by Gem's family. They knew if it fell into the wrong hands the whole world could be destroyed. Ever since the book had been written, all of the children were taught from a very young age what to do about the book if it ever fell into the wrong hands. Destroy it. This man was definitely in the category of "Wrong Hands."

"Drop the book." She pointed the weapon at the man.

The man looked up, almost as if he'd been expecting her. His face was cold and cruel.

"I should have known our little thief would be here." The man smiled coldly at Gem.

It was then she recognized Mercer. He was Beckett's right hand man. Her blood ran cold at the look in his eyes.

"Put down the book." She repeated, trying not to show how shook she was.

A shot rang through the streets. Isabel stopped her rants at Jack and took off down the street towards her shop. Jack took the opportunity to find a new pub to gather his 99 souls.

Tears blurred Gem's vision as she dropped to her knees. Something bitter and metallic was choke her and she coughed. Crimson blood spattered the battered floorboards in front of her. She raised watering eyes to see the smoking point of another pistol.

"That book stays," She told Mercer in a trembling voice. A second shot echoed through the street as she fired.

The bullet missed Mercer, but hit the book. It punched a hole in the cover and went clean through the book, igniting the pages as it passed through.

Mercer snarled at the bleeding girl and raised a fist.

"Gem!?" Isabel's voice reached the two in the back of the shop.

Mercer decided he didn't have the time to deal with such a violent woman as Isabel and kicked down the back door, leaving the burning book on the shop floor.

Isabel arrived in the room and saw Gem lying on the floor. The burned journal lay on the ground where Mercer had thrown it in his frustration. It didn't take Isabel to scoop up her niece and run to the small office of the only legitimate doctor in all of Tortuga.

**The Next Morning**

"Finally I am rid of that troublesome girl." Jack sighed as he stretched his arms above his head.

Elizabeth gave Jack a look. "What girl?"

"A young woman your dear William managed to get on my ship." Jack gave Elizabeth his most annoying 'Bet-you-did-not-know-that' look.

A scowl crossed Elizabeth's face as she turned to gaze out over the ocean. Will was going to have some explaining to do when she found him.

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**A/N: I have indeed returned from the dead on this story. It's only been two months since my last update. I'm getting better. ******


	7. Recovery and Mistress Ching

**Summary: Genevieve "Gem" Lightfingers is the best thief in all of the Caribbean, but when she robs the wrong man she finds herself running for her life. What is a girl to do when surrounded by an oddball pirate, a brave blacksmith, a disgraced commodore, and the backstabbing daughter of a governor?**

* * *

Soft murmurs and whispers drifted softly in the haze that surrounded Gem. Hushed conversations were the predominate sounds. With a groan she opened her eyes.

Isabel was sitting beside her bed with an elderly gentleman. They both stiffened as Gem moaned and attempted to sit up. The elderly gentleman Gem presumed to be the doctor left the room quickly.

"Lay still, love," Isabel said softly, "You're still hurt." She placed a restraining hand on her niece's shoulder. "You have a nasty bullet wound in your stomach."

"Tell me about it," the thief muttered. She glanced out the nearby window. From what Gem was able to see she was on the second floor or so of one of the nicer homes in Tortuga. Was she even still in Tortuga? Usually the harbor didn't look as good as the one she could see. "Where am I? How long have I been out?"

"You're still in Tortuga, just on the other side of the town at a private bay. Apparently most pirates don't enjoy coming here, too quiet. You have been in and out of it for about four days, nothing extraordinary, but still." Isabel shrugged at her niece.

Gem looked out the window once more out across the ocean waves to the horizon. Somewhere out there, far off beyond the sunset was one William Turner trapped on Davy Jones's ship.

"I have to find the chest with the heart of Davy Jones, Aunt Isabel." Gem locked gazes with her aunt, "I have to help Will."

Her aunt gazed at her for one moment. "I have no doubt that your friends are already closing in on the chest, on Davy Jones's heart. I fear, however, that the one to claim the heart will not be the right one. You cousin took another young woman and a man he seemed to recognize as he went off to find the heart. The woman is dangerous, but the man is treacherous." Silence fell as the doctor scurried back into the room.

"I have the medicine you asked for, Isabel," he wheezed.

Isabel nodded and hand the man a coin pouch.

"It's time to go, Gem."

Gem got up from the bed with a little help from her aunt and managed to get to where a cart had been set up for the two of them.

**

* * *

**

**Three Weeks Later**

Three cloaked figures slipped from their ship to a Chinese ship. The Chinese pirates regarded them with suspicion, but no one made any move to inhibit their passing.

Mistress Ching Shih, one of the most renowned female pirates of the time, stood up to greet her guests. She had been on her way to the Court of the Brethren at Shipwreck Cove when a ship had signaled for meeting.

As the figures drew nearer it could be seen that they were all women.

Gem lowered her hood to allow Mistress Ching a clear view of her guest's face. Her two companions followed suit.

"Ah, it has been a long time, Gem," the pirate lord acknowledged.

"That is has, Mistress Ching. I was searching for a particular pirate when I heard you were on the move." To anyone else this may have not seemed so shocking that Mistress Ching was on the move, but every pirate had their own territory. Mistress Ching was now far outside of hers.

"The Court of the Brethren has been called to gather in Shipwreck Cove, I must attend as one of the nine pirate lords." The Chinese pirate lord settled back on her chair and waved her hand for three more to be brought for her guests.

"Shipwreck Cove?" Gem understood what the pirate was talking about. "It has been a long time since the pirate lords have gathered together. More often they fight each other, no? I am not sure I fully understand the situation that would call for a meeting of the lords."

Mistress Ching sighed, "Indeed, but it seems the other pirates lords have been running into some trouble with the English. Captain Sao Feng has been given a proposition to recover Captain Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones's locker. At the same time he was informed by Captain Barbossa that the call had been made. As one of the pirate lords, he had to comply, as I must."

Gem stiffened at the mention of her cousin's name. She'd received no word that he was dead or rather in Davy Jones's locker.

"Was there any mention of a William Turner?" she inquired of the pirate lord.

For a moment the older woman thought, and then she nodded. "I believe he tried to steal Sao Feng's map. The foolish boy nearly got himself killed that way though."

A frown creased Gem's forehead that was not the Will she knew. She stood abruptly and bowed her head in respect to the pirate lord.

"Thank you for sparing the time to speak with us. I believe I shall attempt to intercept the ships of Sao Feng and Barbossa. They have a young man I wish to speak with."

Mistress Ching nodded to the young thief, "Of course. I shall see you in Shipwreck Cove then?"

"If fate works in our favor, then yes." Gem gave the older woman a wry smile as she swept off of the Chinese pirate ship to the one she had disembarked form. Her two companions followed closely behind her.

Isabel stood beside the captain of the ship, her long red flying out in the salty sea breeze. "I trust we have a heading?"

Her niece nodded and began to plot their journey on a map for their helmsman.

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**A/N: I need to watch PotC 3 before the story can continue. I know I said in one of my other stories that I would ignore PotC 3, but I decided the story would work a bit better using the third movie. I may write and post the ending as I had wanted it originally, but that's only if I can ever finish this story. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Rescuing a Pirate

**Summary: Genevieve "Gem" Lightfingers is the best thief in all of the Caribbean, but when she robs the wrong man she finds herself running for her life. What is a girl to do when surrounded by an oddball pirate, a brave blacksmith, a disgraced commodore, and the backstabbing daughter of a governor?**

**A/N: I am so sorry for not updating sooner! I just realized that it has been over three years since I updated this story. It's always been in the back of my mind, but I've had a really hard time actually writing anything on it. So sorry!**

Gem perched herself lightly on the ship railing and watched, bemused, as pirates came flooding through the streets and onto the vessel. In the flurry to cast off no one even noticed the thief sitting in their midst. A familiar face surfaced in the crowd as Will appeared with several strangers. The young woman stepped lightly down from her perch and wove her way through the maze to her friend's side.

"Hello, Will," Gem said silkily as she appeared silently at his side.

"Gem!" Will hugged her tightly. "Jack told me you were dead."

Gem laughed dryly. "That's Jack for you. By the by, I just happened to hear you are going to go get him from Davy Jones locker."

"Oh, yeah." Will didn't quite know how to respond to Gem. She seemed to be very flippant about Jack telling everyone that she was dead.

"Will? What's going on?" It was the young woman standing just behind Will that spoke. "Who is this girl?"

Gem eyed the other woman speculatively. She fit the description Gem had been given of Elizabeth Swann. A small smirk appeared on her face as she noted the jealousy in the other woman's eyes.

"Genevieve 'Lightfingers' Durand," Gem proclaimed, performing an elaborate bow. She stood up, replaced her hat, and straightened it with great show. "Professional thief, pirate, and trader of excessively shiny, expensive baubles."

The other young woman had a look of vague disgust on her face.

"Elizabeth Swann," she said stiffly.

"I'm sure we'll be such good friends on this trip," Gem told her with false cheer. "Jacky will just love it when two such beautiful women in his life show up."

"Jacky? And since when are you coming with us?" Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the thief.

"Oh, didn't you tell her, Will?" Gem gave Will an innocent smile.

"Tell me what, Will?" Elizabeth demanded.

Will looked exceedingly confused and a bit frightened by the two women.

"I'm coming since the moment I was given the task of keeping my idiot of a cousin from doing any more incredibly stupid things." Gem swept off her hat and bowed a second time to both young people. "I am, after all, the cousin of the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow."

Both gaped at her this time.

"Bet you weren't expecting that now were you?" Gem laughed, readjusting her hat for the second time.

"Be serious, Gem," Will demanded.

"Oh, I am," Gem replied, "Quite serious." She smiled brightly at both of them.

"Who be this fair lady?" A rough voice called loudly from behind Gem.

"Genevieve 'Lightfingers' Durand," Gem told the tall pirate proudly.

"I heard ye mention something about dear ol' Jack being yer cousin. Mind repeatin' that?" He smiled, showing his gold capped teeth.

"Sadly enough," Gem replied, "the scoundrel is my cousin. Wish, though I may, he weren't."

The pirate laughed. "Welcome aboard then, young missy."

Gem smiled her most charming smile, slipping her arm through the pirate's proffered one.

**That Night**

Gem sat on the bow of the ship, watching the endless stars float by. It seemed to her that they were not on water by in the infinite blackness of the universe. The only light came from the glistening stars in the heavens and floating on the water's surface.

"Hey."

Gem turned to look at the speaker. Will was standing awkwardly behind her.

"Can I join you?" he asked softly.

She nodded and turned back to her stars.

"What happened after you left for Tortuga?" he asked, settling down next to her.

"I managed to get myself shot by Beckett's man," Gem revealed ruefully. "Bloody bastard was trying to get the book with the directions to Davy Jones' heart. Beckett got the heart anyway." She gave a bitter laugh. All her attempts to save the world from someone in control of Davy Jones had failed. The skeptical girl who had never believed in anything she couldn't understand now was fighting creatures that could do unimaginable things.

"I see."

The pair sat quietly under the stars for a long moment.

"So, Elizabeth's the girl you've risked everything for?" Gem asked finally.

"Yeah." Will let out a sharp breath through his nose, as if disappointed somehow.

"Well, you may want to speak with her," Gem mentioned. "She's looking pretty down."

Will turned to look at the thief. She didn't look at him. After another moment, he took her advice and moved towards Elizabeth.

Gem watched the couple's brief exchange, ending with Elizabeth walking away. What had she missed?

Interrupting her thoughts was Will's voice as he shouted to Barbossa.

Gem, along with most of the crew, ran to see what Will saw. Her body went cold. The edge of the world. Water raced over the sudden drop-off into a vast void of darkness. The crew sprang into action around her, attempting to stop the ship. Barbossa, however, drove the ship further in.

"Hold on!" Will cried to Gem. She scrambled for a rope and missed just as the ship dropped suddenly out from beneath her. Will caught her hand and pulled her up so she could wrap her free arm around his waist.

Wind and water rushed past and Gem's stomach felt like it had been left back on the edge of the world. Men who lost their grips screamed as they plummeted out of sight, never to be seen again.

The ship shattered as it hit water far below. The remaining members of the crew scrambled to shore.

At least it was bright out and warm. Gem decided that she liked that. She examined the beach. White sand stretched out for miles around them, turning into huge dunes as the sand covered further inland. Before she could ask about her cousin, having ignored the rest of the crew for the previous several minutes, she saw a mast coming over a dune. The Black Pearl rose up from the ground and slid into the water with Jack Sparrow standing tall on the mast.

Thousands of stone crabs scattered as the ship hit the water with a crash. Several curled in on themselves to form perfectly round white rocks.

Gem picked one up and looked at it with interest. As it sat in the palm of her hand, it opened up and looked at her with strange little eyes. It scuttled up her arm and settled on her shoulder where it clicked its claws for several minutes as the others argued with Jack over who went back to the land of the living and who stayed.

Jack suddenly appeared a little too close to Gem's face for her comfort.

"Ugh, Jack, breath stinks," she coughed, pushing him backwards.

"Why are you here?" he asked, poking a finger at her warily.

"I'm here to make sure our world doesn't fall to the likes of Cutler Beckett, and since you are apparently very important to everyone I had to come get you," she answered as she guarded her little rock crab from Jack's stabbing finger.

Jack wrinkled his nose and curled his fingers as he always did when he wasn't sure he wanted to do something.

After a few more moments of bickering, Gem found herself aboard the Black Pearl for the second time in her life after coming from situation in which her cousin had needed saving. Her dolt of a cousin proceeded to "out-command" the Black Pearl by yelling over and repeating every order Barbossa gave. To find some semblance of peace, Gem headed for the hold.

The little rock crab had refused to be left behind on the beach of Davy Jones' Locker and, after some reassurances from Tia Dalma, Gem had taken the creature with her. It was chattering away quite happily on her shoulder at the moment. Gem settled herself down on a pile of rope and just listened to the little crab's clicking. She wondered what in the world the little guy was saying that he was so excited about. It would be interesting if she could understand him.

She heard voices suddenly. Gem gently placed a hand over the little crab's claws and pointed in the direction of the voices. The crab seemed to understand she wanted quiet and curled himself into a little white rock which Gem slipped into her pocket.

The thief hid behind some hanging cargo nets and watched as Will and Elizabeth argue. It took Gem a few minutes to catch on to what they were arguing about. Elizabeth Swann, the governor's daughter, had murdered her cousin. Not only that, but she'd been screwing with Will's heart. If anything made Gem mad, it was the girls who used the men around them without thought or care to the men's feelings. Irritated was pig-headed men, mad was back-stabbing bitches like Elizabeth.

She watched as Elizabeth vanished up the steep stairs and onto the deck leaving Will behind in the dimly lit hold.

"Hey," Gem called quietly to let her friend know she was standing there. Will just looked at her before sitting down on the steps. The young woman perched herself on a nearby barrel.

"I can't believe she would keep something like that from me," he said miserably. "I've risked everything for her time and time again and she couldn't trust me enough to tell me what she was doing?" Will swung his fist to the side, slamming it violently into one of the sturdy support beams. A wince was the only indication that he felt any pain from the blow.

Gem slid off her perch and took his hand in hers. The skin was reddened, but unbroken. Their eyes met as the thief looked up. Will's brown eyes searched hers, for what Gem did not know.

"She's a woman, love," Gem told him gently. "A woman who's spent too much time with pirates and watching those she loves being taken from her over and over again." As much as Gem hated Elizabeth for hurting Will, she refused to hurt Will further by bashing the woman he loved.

"But to hide this from me?" Will was really hurt.

"Will, you already have a lot to bear. I'm sure Elizabeth knows that and doesn't want you to take on more than you have to, more than you can bear." Will stared at Gem as she spoke, his eyes never leaving her face.

"I suppose you're right," he told her with a small smile. "I should just let it go."

With that he stood up, gave Gem's hand a gentle squeeze, and headed up on deck. The thief sat quietly where she'd been left, trying desperately to ignore the ache in her chest that signaled her attraction to her friend. She couldn't feel anything for him. He was her friend and had a fiancée. She was a thief and a nuisance. Will would be better off if he never knew how Gem was beginning to feel.


End file.
